At last the animals called a special council. They would starve if the warm weather did not return. They could not hold out much longer.

"Do you think the bears have taken the heat?" someone asked, and the others whispered, "Where are the bears?"

Talk turned to how much they longed for heat. Without warm winds and sunshine, their suffering would never end. They had to find the warmth and carry it back to their world, and so, after much conversation, they selected a caravan to search for the heat.

They chose the fox for his wit, the lynx for her magic, the wolverine for his sense of smell. The dogfish and the pike could race through water. The mouse could squeeze his way into the tiniest spots. This, then, was the brigade of animals that set off one bitter cold morning.

Now in those days animals were different. They could fly and swim and burrow — every one of them — and so after the caravan had traveled a while, they set off for the sky in search of secret passageways. Sure enough, they finally found the entrance that opened to the Upper World.

Up and up they went, the fox in the lead, the others close behind, and soon came upon a bright blue lake. "Look," the lynx cried, pointing at a tipi at the edge of the lake.

They crept up to the tipi, and when they peered inside, they saw two little bear cubs, fast asleep.

"Ah, the bears," the wolverine said.

The cubs awoke at once and hugged each other. "What do you want?" they asked.

But now the others had noticed the enormous bags hanging over their heads. "What's in the bags?" the fox asked.

"The wind is in that one," said the first cub, and he pointed above the pike's head.

"And Mother keeps the fog in there," said the second cub, pointing to the bag above the mouse.

"And what about the third bag?" the wolverine asked.

The cubs trembled. "We can't tell you. That's Mother's secret."

"Oh, don't worry," said the mouse, "we're old friends of your mother's. You can tell us her secret."

"That's where Mother keeps the heat," the cubs whispered.

"Ahhh," said the fox, and the animals looked at each other and smiled and nodded their heads.

They knew that Mother Bear might return at any moment, and they understood now that the bears had left their land and stolen their heat. They would have to come up with a plan to trick Mother Bear, and do so without speaking, so the cubs would not hear. But the animals understood each other very well. And so, in silence, using their eyes and steady nods, they devised a way to steal the heat from Mother Bear.

"Don't forget to give your mother our best," said the lynx, and then she ran outside and raced to the far side of the lake. There she turned herself into a deer, and in this disguise, she wandered to the edge of the lake. She knew this would attract Mother Bear.

Meanwhile, the mouse scrambled into Mother Bear's canoe. There she chewed a deep cut in the paddle.

The others waited in silence, and before too long, they saw Mother Bear ambling toward her tipi and the cubs.

One of the cubs peered out and spotted the lynx who looked like a deer.

He cried, "Look at the deer over there!"

Mother Bear charged toward her canoe and leaped inside. She paddled as fast as she could toward the deer. Everyone knew Mother Bear had in mind to make this deer a meal.

So hungry was she, she leaned harder into her paddle, but when she did the paddle broke at the point where the mouse had chewed, and Mother Bear tumbled into the water with a huge splash.

The hiding animals rushed into the tipi and pulled down the bag containing the heat. The lynx raced over to join them.

While Mother Bear struggled to climb out of the lake, the animals made their way toward the entrance to Earth, dragging and pushing the bag with them. But it was so big and so heavy that they grew more and more tired, and Mother Bear was gaining on them, shaking water from her fur as she ran. "Stop! Wait!" she cried. "Don't take my heat. You'll never get away with this!"

With a last, desperate effort, the animals reached the entrance, and with a mighty heave, they pushed the bag through to the other side, where it fell and opened, and all the heat tucked inside spilled out and rushed into the world.